Walmart gives $180 million in bonuses to employees who have worked daily throughout the COVID-19 pandemic

American retail company, Walmart paid $180 million in cash bonuses to its employees who have worked daily throughout the COVID-19 pandemic to provide customers with food, medicine and other essential items.

The bonuses were designed to recognize the “hard work of our associates as COVID-19 spreads and to help provide more cash in hand for them sooner,” Walmart Chief People Officer Donna Morris said. The money went to store, club, and supply chain associates, the company said in a statement.

The retail giant also pledged in March to pay out a “special cash bonus” – $300 for full-time and $150 for part-time employees. The cash bonus and early quarterly bonus will total nearly $550 million, according to the release.

Since March 19, the company said they have hired 200,000 new employees.

“We’ve seen firsthand our associates’ unwavering focus to take care of customers and members while providing a vital service to communities during this time,” Donna Morris, chief people officer, said in a statement

Read the rest of Morris’ statement below:

Recognizing the hard work ahead of our associates as COVID-19 spreads and to help provide more cash in hand for them sooner, we shared plans to accelerate the payout for our quarterly incentive, which store, club and supply chain associates received today. With this, we paid nearly $180 million in cash bonuses to hourly associates, with more to come next month on our originally scheduled quarterly bonus payout date. This is in addition to the special cash bonus for all U.S. hourly associates earlier this month, which was $300 for full-time hourly and $150 for part-time hourly, a total of more than $365 million paid to our associates.

In addition, we’ve fulfilled our commitment to hire 200,000 associates in our stores, clubs, distribution centers and fulfillment centers, since March 19. We are humbled to be able to give an opportunity to so many Americans to work, often serving as a bridge for employment, while helping Walmart better serve customers during this time of increased demand.

Our focus on our associates’ health and safety continues. We’re conducting health screens and daily temperature checks and providing masks and gloves to all associates. We’ve also added sneeze guards at registers, limited the number of customers in stores, installed social distancing signage and instituted sanitation protocols.

We appreciate everything our associates are doing to serve our customers and communities. They’re truly making a difference.”